DREPANID BIRDS, THE PRIDE OF HAWAIIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS 

 The Drcnapids are a family of l)ir(ls peculiar to the Hawaiian Islands Their origin is un- 

 known although they show a relationshij) to American birds To understand them one must 

 know the flora of the Islands. The birds have (leveloi)ed long, curved beaks, similar in shape to 

 the curved, tubular flowers of the Lohclioidcac which contain the nectar upon which the l)irds feed 

 and this striking similarity in form suggests that there has been a simultaneous develo|mient. 

 (Fig. 32 ) 



